Oak Ridge Today

Urban design leader named newest UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair

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Phil Enquist

Phil Enquist

KNOXVILLE—Philip Enquist, partner in charge of urban design and planning and leader of the City Design Practice at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, has been named the 16th University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair. Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill is one of the world’s leading urban planning, architecture, and engineering firms, a press release said.

Enquist and a select research team will serve as Governor’s Chair for High Performance Energy Practices in Urban Environments and will be affiliated with and administer projects through the UT College of Architecture and Design.

The Governor’s Chair team will be a research partnership among many designers at the firm who specialize in sustainable urbanism and high-performance buildings. Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill’s City Design Practice is the world’s most highly awarded urban planning group.

The contract between ORNL, UT, and the design firm is pending, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge senior Andrew Skipper earns UT-Battelle scholarship

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Andrew Skipper and Thom Mason

Andrew Skipper, left, the 2014 UT-Battelle Scholarship winner, is congratulated by ORNL Director Thom Mason. (Submitted photo)

Andrew Skipper, a senior at Oak Ridge High School, is the recipient of the 2014 UT-Battelle Scholarship to the University of Tennessee.

The four-year, $20,000 scholarship is presented annually to a graduating senior who plans to study science, engineering, or mathematics at UT and whose mother or father works at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Andrew is the son of David and Maria Skipper. David Skipper works in ORNL’s Environmental Protection and Waste Services Division, and Maria Skipper works in ORNL’s Business Management Services Division. His grandmother, Margie Skipper, worked in ORNL’s Laboratory Protection Division for many years prior to her retirement in 1999.

Andrew’s goal at UT is to pursue a bachelor’s degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering before enrolling in graduate or medical school. [Read more…]

Roane State graduation set for May 9-10

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Roane State Community College Harriman Campus

The main Roane State Community College campus in Harriman.

Roane State Community College will hold commencement ceremonies on May 9-10.

Both events, to be held in the gym on the Roane County campus in Harriman, will be equal in presentation.

  • Friday, May 9, at 7 p.m. (Eastern) for recipients of the Associate of Applied Science degree (A.A.S) in nursing, recipients of A.A.S. degrees in allied health sciences, and for recipients of certificates in allied health sciences.
  • Saturday, May 10, at 10 a.m. (Eastern) for recipients of Associate of Arts degrees and Associate of Science degrees, recipients of the Associate of Science in Teaching, and for recipients of A.A.S. degrees or certificates in all other fields.

Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker, former U.S Senator from Kansas and wife of Tennessee statesman Howard Baker Jr., will be the speaker for the Friday ceremony. Jim Henry, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, will speak at the Saturday event. [Read more…]

Campaign finance laws, U.S. politics to be discussed Tuesday

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Jon Shefner

Jon Shefner

A University of Tennessee professor will discuss campaign finance laws and U.S. politics during Lunch with the League on Tuesday.

Jon Shefner is professor and head of the Sociology Department at the University of Tennessee. He will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League at noon Tuesday. The meeting will be held in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

“The ties between economic interests and political power are repeated throughout American history,” a press release said. [Read more…]

Student at UT’s Bredesen Center wins $50,000 ORNL prize

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Andrew Lepore Big Idea ORNL Check

Bredesen Center student Andrew Lepore stands with the $50,000 check he won as part of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Next Big Idea competition. (Photo courtesy University of Tennessee)

KNOXVILLE—With the first set of Bredesen Center graduates at the University of Tennessee set to receive their doctorates next week, students who will be in the next wave of graduates are already finding success.

Andrew Lepore, working out of the Materials Science and Technology Division through the center, recently won a prestigious Oak Ridge National Laboratory-related prize at the Next Big Idea competition. Lepore is on track to receive his doctorate in 2016.

“For him to go in there against some more seasoned researchers, against students who are further along, and come out with one of the three awards speaks highly of him and of the quality of students we have here,” said Bredesen Center Director Lee Riedinger. [Read more…]

Roane State Concert Choir earns honor in international competition

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Roane State Concert Choir

The Roane State Concert Choir won a silver award at the Canta en Primavera festival in Malaga, Spain. From left are music director Geol Greenlee, students Amanda Cole, Kela Oberloh, Amber Delk, Mason Van Horn, Paul Davis, Jeremiah Jacks, Eddie Rivera, Amanda Holly, Trisha Davidson, Judy Rivera, and Ashley Sherrill, and choral director Brenda Luggie. (Submitted photo)

 

Roane State Community College’s Concert Choir won a silver award at an international choral festival held in Malaga, Spain.

The choir traveled to Malaga, a seaport on the Andalusian coast of southern Spain, last month during spring break. Under the direction of Brenda Luggie and accompanied by Geol Greenlee, the 11-member choir performed in the Canta en Primavera (Sing in Spring) festival.

“The group was the only ensemble from the U.S., and in their first international competition, scored silver (level 9), less than two points from the winner’s score,” Luggie said. “Their success is not just a feather in their caps, but a memory they will cherish for the rest of their lives.” [Read more…]

Band Arte Musica to perform tonight at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus

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Arte Musica

Arte Musica will play at Roane State tonight (April 25). Pictured above from left are Wade Darnell, Rudolph Nemeth, and Travis Witherington. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge band Arte Musica—consisting of pianist Rudolph Nemeth, banjoist Wade Darnell, and bassist Travis Witherington—will host its Spring Concert on Friday, April 25, at Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus at 701 Briarcliff Ave.

The performance will begin at 7 p.m. in the City Room. The event is free and open to the public.

Arte Musica (Latin for “The Art of Music”) formed in December of 2011 when the trio began crafting a unique repertoire that featured piano, banjo, and bass. Darnell and Witherington had studied music under Roane State professor Nemeth for several years before the band’s formation.

Arte Musica will have CDs for sale at the spring concert. For more information, visit www.artemusicaband.com.

UT Arboretum to have presentation on bats on Thursday

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Bat at UT Arboretum

Northern Long-eared Bat (Photos courtesy of Middleton Photos)

The University of Tennessee Arboretum will host a presentation on bats—“Let’s Go BAT-ty”—from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday.

Gerry Middleton, a biologist who has studied bats extensively, will present a slide show at the Visitor’s Center to discuss his two-year study of Arboretum bats. Using his “bat detector,” he will take the group outside to look for the nocturnal creatures.

A biologist with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation in the U.S. Department of Energy-Oversight Office, Middleton promised that this will be an opportunity for all ages to learn more about the local bat population, a press release said. Middleton has an master’s degree in wildlife and fisheries from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. [Read more…]

Energy Secretary Moniz to give lecture on energy, environment at UT on Friday

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Ernest Moniz

Ernest Moniz

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will give a lecture on energy and the environment at the University of Tennessee on Friday. It’s free and open to the public, a press release said.

Moniz will also talk about the U.S. Department of Energy and its activities in Tennessee, a press release said.

It’s the Baker Distinguished Lecture on Energy and the Environment, and it’s scheduled from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Friday at the UT College of Law, Room 132. Overflow seating will be available in Room 135, and the event will be streamed live here.

The College of Law is at at 1505 W. Cumberland Ave. in Knoxville. Paid public parking will be available in the Volunteer Hall Garage. A map of campus is available at utk.edu/maps. [Read more…]

Science, ethics, war to be discussed at Lunch with League on Tuesday

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Jeffrey Kovac

Jeffrey Kovac

A chemistry professor and director of undergraduate studies at the University of Tennessee will explore the proper role of scientists in war-related research during a Tuesday meeting in Oak Ridge.

The presentation by Jeffrey Kovac at a Lunch with the League meeting is titled “Science, Ethics, and War—Questions of Conscience.” It starts at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

“Science and the military have had a long and often mutually beneficial relationship, a relationship that is seldom questioned,” a press release said. [Read more…]

Martial Arts forum at RSCC Oak Ridge campus on Wednesday

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Representatives from Progressive Martial Arts of Oak Ridge will demonstrate martial arts skills and discuss the development of Filkenjutsu, the field of martial arts practiced at PMA, during a forum at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (today).

The forum will be held in the City Room at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus. The forum is free, and the public is invited. It’s presented by Roane State’s Social Science, Business, and Education Division.

Bruce Corrigan and his sons, Nick and David, will lead the demonstration. Bruce Corrigan has more than 30 years’ experience in martial arts and is certified to teach a variety of disciplines. He founded Progressive Martial Arts and taught Nick and David. [Read more…]

ORAU Annual Report highlights impact of early career researchers on U.S. scientific mission

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Jason Hayward

Jason Hayward, who has a doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan, holds a high-resolution instrument, which is part of his research to benefit facilities like Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source. (Photo credit: University of Tennessee)

With U.S. falling behind China and India in numbers of STEM graduates, strengthening U.S. scientific talent is critical, according to report

Jason Hayward is applying his nuclear engineering research expertise to develop the next generation of high-resolution instruments for facilities like Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source.

Hayward, who has a doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan, hopes his work will eventually help curtail the spread of nuclear weapons and assist in identifying viable alternative energy sources. Hayward is an assistant professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee, a joint faculty member with ORNL’s Nuclear Security and Isotope Technology Division, a U.S. Department of Energy research award recipient, and a participant in the Higher Education Research Experiences Program.

He and many other early career researchers are participating in fellowships and internships managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities with DOE and other federal agencies, and they are the main focus of ORAU’s “2013 Annual Report,” which has just been released. [Read more…]